Japan Airlines 777 engine malfunction after takeoff

JAPAN AIR B787-9 JA866J (MSN 35423)         File Photo

A Tokyo-bound Japan Airlines Boeing 777 had to return to Los Angeles after departure following an engine malfunction. The incident occurred on the 15th October just as the aircraft was climbing out of the Californian air hub, and resulted in flames being emitted from the jet’s right-hand turbofan. 

Japan Airlines flight JL15 was travelling from Los Angeles International (LAX/KLAX) in California it's destination in Tokyo Haneda (HND/RJTT)

Its arrival there was timed to take place at 17:20 the next day, giving a planned duration of 11 hours and 35 minutes. 

JAL has exclusively deployed the Boeing 777-300ER on this flight in the last month. The Japanese flag carrier faces strong competition on the route, with four other carriers present. These are American Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines.

According to reports flight JL15 didn’t get off to the best start, departing almost an hour late at 14:33 local time. However, the flight was about to run into far greater problems. Indeed, The Aviation Herald reports that, while climbing away from runway 25R at LAX, the aircraft experienced a fiery engine malfunction With flames being emitted from the 777’s right-hand GE90 turbofan, the crew declared an emergency. Having stopped their climb at 5,000 feet, ATC instructed them to continue to 6,000 feet to begin the fuel dumping process. This ensured that the plane wouldn’t be overweight upon landing.

Circling to the southwest of the city near Santa Catalina Island, the flight eventually dumped enough fuel to be at a suitable landing weight. It touched back down safely on LAX’s runway 25L, with data from FlightRadar24.com showing that it did so at 15:18 local time, after 45 eventful minutes in the air. A safe taxi back to the apron followed.

The Boeing 777-300ER that experienced the fiery engine malfunction bears the registration JA740J. Data from ch-aviation.com shows that it is 13.16 years old, having joined JAL brand-new in August 2008. It seats 244 passengers in a four-class configuration.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Japan Air

Code: JL/JAL

Aircraft: Boeing 777-346ER

Registration: JA740J

Serial Number: 36127

Engines: 2 x GE GE90-115B

First Flew: 24th August 2008

Age: 13 Yrs 2 Mts

Story sourced from here with additions.

Japan Airlines Boeing 777 Faces Engine Malfunction After Takeoff - Simple Flying